Sectional handle for electric floor machine



June 30, 1959 D. H. BRENNAN ET AL 2,892,203

SECTIONAL HANDLE FOR ELECTRIC FLOOR MACHINE Filed OCT.. 25, 1957 ma m? zoww n n 3 P DUH/w WWP. mb/ A 4 m .W z J ,n 5 T @L o@ United StatesPatent O SECTIONAL HANDLE FOR ELECTRIC FLOGR MACHINE Daniel H. Brennan,Cleveland Heights, yand James I. Hunter, Lyndhurst, Ohio, assgnors toGeneral Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application October25, 1957, Serial No. 692,369

5 Claims. (Cl. 15-143) The invention relates to electric oor machines,and particularly to an improvement in the handle thereof.

Electric oor machines, such as upright vacuum cleaners and floorpolishers, are normally provided with an elongated, rigid, unitaryhandle which is utilized to maneuver them about. In such machines, amanually operable, electric switch is frequently mounted in the handleadjacent to the handle grip for convenient operation by the user, and anelectric wire extends from the switch through the handle to the electricmotor of the machine, which is normally located in a body that rests onthe oor. Electric floor machines of this type possess a serious deciencyin that they require a large packing cartn to'accommodatethem; inpractice it has been found that a typical electric oor polisher havingan elongated, rigid, unitary handle of conventional length requires apacking carton approximately 47 inches high. lIt will be apparent thatthe cost of the carton and the cost of shipping the carton are higherthan they would be if the handle were split into two or more sections,thereby allowing the use of a smaller carton. Another serious faultincident to the use of large cartons is that the packaged door machineis not normally likely to be carried out of a store by a customer, andtherefore, the additional cost of home delivery is required.

In view of the highly competitive nature of the electric applianceindustry, the presence of unnecessary costs in lmanufacture or marketingis odious. The art has recognized the desirability of reducing the sizeof packing cartons, and to effect this end has devised an electric oormachine having a sectional handle; however, this prior art arrangementutilizes a switch that is mounted in the body of a oor machine, whichis, therefore, not convenient to the user, and has lan electric wireclamped to the outside of the handle, which is unsightly.

vIt is an object of this invention to provide an improved electric oormachine having an elongated handle, which *isv capable of being. packedin small packing cartons, because its elongated handle is built ofsections, wherein the electric switch is located in the handle adjacentto the' handle grip, wherein the electric wire that connects theelectric switch to the electric motor is located within the" handle, andwherein means is provided to prevent subjecting the electric wireconnections to strain or damaging the electric wire prior to finalassemblage of the sections into the elongated handle or thereafter inthe event of inadvertent separation of the sections.

The object of this invention is achieved in one form by providing in anelectric floor machine, a handle which is made of two tubular sections,providing a handle grip atone end of one of the sections, connecting theother section at one of its ends to the body of the electric oormachine, disposing an electric wire in both of the sections, connectingone end of the electric wire to the electric motor in the loor machineand the other end of the electric wire to a manually operable switchthat s disposed adjacent to the handle grip, and providing a ice strainrelief between adjacent ends of the sections which is shorter in lengththan the portion of electric wire that extends between the two sectionswhen they are disconnected.

Other objects and further details of that which we believe to be noveland our invention will be clear from the following description andclaims taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a fully assembled, electric oor polisherembodying the instant invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a prior art, electric oor polisher having anelongated, rigid, unitary handle schematically illustrated in a packingcarton;

Fig. 3 shows an electric oor polisher which incorporates the instantinvention schematically illustrated in a packing carton; Fig. 3 is drawnon the same scale as Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the sectional handle contemplatedby the instant invention, illustrated in disconnected condition prior tobeing assembled into an elongated handle;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken centrally through thedisconnected adjacent ends of the tubular sections comprising thesectional handle, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View taken centrally through theconnected adjacent ends of the tubular sections after they have beenassembled to form an elongated handle.

Fig. l illustrates a fully assembled, electric oor polisher thatincorporates the instant invention. It will be understood that theinstant invention may be incorporated in other types of electric oormachines, such as vacuum cleaners of the upright type, and that it isillustrated and will be disclosed with reference to an electric oorpolisher solely for the purpose of exempliiication.

The electric floor polisher illustrated generally comprises a body 10and an elongated handle 12. The upper end of the handle is free andsupports a grip 14, and an electric switch 16 and electric cord 18 aresecured to the handle adjacent to the handle grip. If desired, a pair ofhooks 20 may be mounted on the handle to serve as a means for supportingcoiled electric cord when the floor polisher is stored. The lower end ofthe handle 12 is rigidly secured to a socket 22, which in turn may bepivotally secured to a rear portion of the floor polisher body 10. Thefloor polisher body houses a conventional electric motor within it (notshown), and appropriate mechanism for driving a pair of oor contactingmembers 24, which may be in the form of rotary brushes or the like.

The electric oor polisher described thus far with reference to Fig. lmay be considered to be of a predetermined xed height, that is, when itis fully assembled and its elongated handle is located so as to extendupwardly, it is of a determinable iixed height. In marketing electricoor polishers, it is customary that they be packaged in a packing cartonand shipped to a distributor or dealer, who in turn resells them',ultimately to a consumer. Throughout the process of marketing, theoriginal factory packing carton is normally the sole container utilized.Prior art, electric floor polishers of substantially the same size asthat of the Fig. 1 electric floor polisher customarily require a packingcarton which is approximately 47 inches high. This is illustratedschematically in Fig. 2, wherein the prior art, electric door polisherPA is illustrated packaged in a rather tall, prior alt carton PAC, whichis necessitated by the length of the unitary, elongated, prior arthandle PAH.

In order to reduce the size of the packing carton, the instant inventioncontemplates making the elongated handle 12 intov two separate tubularsections 26 and 28.

When fully assembled, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the electric floorpolisher incorporating the instant invention operates in substantiallythe same manner as the prior art, electric oor polisher illustrated inFig. 2. The fully assembled handle 12 is the operationally equivalent ofthe unitary prior art handle PAH. In use, the Aelectric 4cord 18, whichhas a conventional electric plug 30 secured at its free end, is locatedrelative to the handle 12 so as to cause minimum interference with theoperation of the oor polisher,` and the electric switch 16 is locatedadjacent to the handle grip 14 in a very convenient position for manualoperation by the user.

In order to allow for the utilization of a substantially smaller packingcarton than .the prior art, packing cartontPAC, the handle 12 is formedinto the referred-to tubular sections 26 and 28, and packaged andshippedin a broken down condition, illustrated in Fig. 3. When packaged asillustrated in Fig. 3, it has been found in practice that a packingcarton only approximately 28 inches high is required. In order to allowfor the electric floor polisher to be packaged in the Fig. 3 conditionand still provide for the switch 16 to be located adjacent to the handlegrip 14, and further, to house the electric wire 32 that extends fromthe electric motor in the floor polisher body to the electric switch 16completely within the handle, it is necessary to provide some means forpreventing strain on the electric wire convvnections and damage to theelectric wire prior to finally asembling the floor polisher into itsFig. 1 condition.

By reference particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be observed that theelectric wire 32 extends through both ofthe tubular sections 26 and 28,and that prior to assembling the handle into its elongated Fig. 1condition,.

a portion 34 of the electric wire extends outside of the tubularsectionsbetween the adjacent ends 36 and 38 of the sections 26 and 28,respectively. One end of the electric wire 32 is formed into a pair ofleads 40 which are adapted to be electrically connected to the electricmotor that is housed in the licor polisher body 10. The

vother end of the electric wire 32 is split into a pair of grip, whileobtaining the benets of a sectional handle.

With a sectional handle as described thus far, there is the distinctpossibility, in fact likelihood, that the portion 34 of the electricwire 32 or the electrical connections Vmade bythe leads 40, 42 and 46will be damaged prior to the time when the tubular sections 26 `and 28are assembled into the elongated handle 12 illustrated in Fig. 1. Inorder to prevent such damage prior to assembly ofthe tubular sections,or thereafter in the event of their Y inadvertent separation, a strainrelief is provided benovel in and of itself, but that it is the purposeof this invention to retain the desirable prior art wiring, wherein ltheelectric wire is located within the handle and the elec- Vtric switchislocated at a point adjacent to the handle 4 Y. are disconnected, andwhich is in excess of the length of strain relief chain 52.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5, it will be observed that the portion 34 of theelectric wire 32 is in excess of the length of the strain relief chain52, and therefore, that there will never be occasion for the electricwire to rub up against the free edges of the ends 36 and 38 and therebybe damaged or for the electrical connections made by the electric wireleads 40, 42 and 46 to be subjected to strain, either prior to thetubular sections 26 and 28 being assembled, or in the event that afterassembly the elongated handle should inadvertently separate into itsseparate sections. As can best be seen in Fig. 3, the strain reliefchain 52 functions in such a manner .as to allow the disconnectedtubular section 26 to hang freely and be supported by the strain reliefchain without damaging the electric wire 32 or subjecting the electricwire connections to strain when the Hoor polisher is broken down andpackaged. It should be understood that the strain relief chain alsofunctions to prevent subjecting the electric wire connections to strainwhen the handle Vis separated and the entire floor machine is lifted olfthe threaded bolt 60 may be disposed in aligned openings 62 and `64,respectively, which are formed in the end 38 of Vthe tubular section 28,and the threaded bolt may be threadedly secured to the headed nut. Onam'valat the point of assembly, the carton is opened and the oorpolisher is removed. In order to assemble the oor polisher foroperation, it is simply necessary to rernove the threaded bolt 60 andthe headed nut 58 from the end 38 of the tubular section 28, and connectthe tubular sections 26 and 28 by inserting the end 38 into the end 36.It has been found in practice that during such insertion, the strainrelief chain 52 4and the portion 34 of electric wire 32 slide into thetubular sections without impeding com nections of the tubular sections.When the ends 36r and 38 are connected, the openings 62 and 64 arealigned with the aligned openings 66 and 68 formed in the end 36 of thetubular section 26. The headed nut 58 is inserted from the exterior intothe aligned openings 66 and 62, the threaded bolt 60 is inserted fromthe exterior throughV the aligned openings 68 and ,64, and the threadedbolt is thre-adedly secured within the headed nut. The finally assembledcondition of the handle 12 is illustrated in Fig. 1, and in Fig. 6, thefinally assembled condition of-the connected ends 36 and 38 ofthetubular `sectionsand their associated parts, including the chainstrainrelief 52, the portion 34 of the electric wire 32, the headed nut58 and the threaded bolt 60, is illustrated.

In ,View of the foregoing, it-will be observed that a sectional handlehas been provided for an electric oor machine, wherein an electric wireis completely housed within the handle, and extends between and isyconnected to an electric motor in the oor machine body. and van tweenthe adjacent ends 36 and 38 of the tubular sections Y 26 and 28,respectively.

The strain relief may take various forms, a particular Vone which hasbeen found to be successful in practice is that of the flexible metalchain 52. The chain 52 is secured 'at one of its ends to the inner sideof the end 38 is secured to the inner side of the end 36 of the tubularsection 26 by theV riveted constructon 56 or equivalent securing means.The electric wire 32 is selected so as to provide a portion 34 whichprojects out of the adjacent .,ends. 36 and 38 when .the tubularsections 26 and 28 electric switch located adjacent vto a grip formed onthe free end of the handle, wherein-the construction is such asto allowAfor a sized, packing carton when packaging the oor machine,andwhereinvthe possibility of damage to the electric wire connections orthe electric wire during shipment when the handle is disconnected in totwo tubularsections, or afterfinal assembly of the handle in Vtheeventithe latter-'should become inadvertently disassembled, iseliminated. It

will be observed that the desired advantage of allowing for reducing thesize of the packing carton is achieved without sacrificing theconvenience or appearance of the nal assembled lQOI machine, as .byhaving the switch assegna located on the lioor machine body itself or byhaving electric wire disposed on the outside of the handle and clampedthereto, as is the case in certain prior art devices of this type.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects ofour invention are not limited to the particular details of constructionof the example illustrated, and we contemplate that various and othermodifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the art.It is, therefore, our intention that the appended claims shall coversuch modifications and applications as do not depart from the truespirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. An electric machine comprising: a body, an electrically operateddevice in said body, -an elongated hollow handle supported at one of itsends by said body, a manually operable electric switch mounted in saidhandle near its other end; an elongated electric wire disposed withinsaid handle and connected at one of its ends to said device and at theother of its ends to said switch; said handle being formed by twoseparate tubular sections; means for rigidly connecting said sectionstogether to form said handle; and an elongated collapsible membersecured to the adjacent ends of said tubular sections; said memberhaving a portion that extends outside of said adjacent ends when saidtubular sections are disconnected, said electric wire having a portionthat extends outside of said adjacent ends when said tubular sectionsare disconnected, and the portion of said electric wire being longerthan the portion of said member, whereby said member functions as astrain relief for said electric wire when said tubular sections aredisconnected.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said connecting meanscomprises cooperating coupling means formed on said adjacent ends; eachof said adjacent ends is provided with a pair of aligned openings; andsecuring means is located in said pairs of openings when said adjacentends are coupled to each other with said pairs of openings aligned tothereby connect said tubular portions.

3. A machine as dened in claim 1 wherein said device comprises anelectric motor; and said body supports movable oor treating means whichis operatively connected to said motor; whereby said machine may beutilized to treat a floor, and said switch may be utilized to controlsaid motor.

4. A device as defined in claim l wherein said member comprises acollapsible chain that is secured at one of its ends to the interior ofone of said adjacent ends, and which is secured at the other of its endsto the interior of the other of said adjacent ends.

5. An electric licor machine comprising: a body; an electric motor insaid body; movable oor treating means supported by said body andoperatively connected to said motor; an elongated hollow handlesupported at one of its ends by said body; a manually operable electricswitch mounted in said handle near its other end; an elongated electricwire disposed within said handle and connected at one of its ends tosaid motor and at the other of its ends to said switch; an elongatedelectrical cord being principally disposed on the exterior of saidhandle, being connected to said switch at one of its ends and supportingan electrical plug at its other end; said handle being formed by twoseparate tubular sections that are adapted to be rigidly connected toform said handle; said tubular sections having cooperating couplingmeans formed on their adjacent ends; and a collapsible chain that issecured at one of its ends to the interior of one of said adjacent ends,and which is secured at the other of its ends to other of said adjacentends; a portion of said chain and a portion of said electric wireextending outside of said adjacent ends when said tubular sections aredisconnected, and the portion of said electric wire being longer thanthe portion of said chain, whereby said chain functions as a strainrelief for said electric wire when said tubular sections aredisconnected.

Naul June 24, 1930 McNamee Nov. 6, 1934

